Method, apparatus, and computer program product for group-based communication interface with email, channeling

• US 11,271,886 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2019
• Issued: 03/08/2022
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Slack Technologies, Inc. (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jamison, Britton
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazaro, David R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khurshid, Zia
• Application Number:
  US16/666,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20200137018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 709206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products are provided for executing an email communication import protocol in a selected group-based communication interface within a group-based communication system. The group-based communication system allows for receiving one or more email communication corpus associated with email communication accounts and parsing the email communication corpus to identify email communication account identifiers. The group-based communication system thereafter creates and transmits group-based communication interface invitations to the email communication accounts to allow access to the group-based communication interface. Upon access to the group-based communication interface, content from the email communication corpus may be included in the group-based communication interface.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured to execute an email communication import protocol in a selected group-based communication interface, the apparatus comprising at least a processor, and a memory associated with the processor having computer coded instructions therein, with the computer coded instructions configured to, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to:

receive an email communication corpus, the email communication corpus comprising one or more external email communication account identifiers, each of the one or more external email communication account identifiers being associated with respective email communication accounts external to the group-based communication interface;

parse the email communication corpus to identify the one or more external email communication account identifiers;

generate for display, within the group-based communication interface, an actuator to create a group-based communication interface invitation;

generate and transmit the group-based communication interface invitation to the email communication accounts associated with the at least one of the one or more external email communication account identifiers based at least in part on the actuator,

wherein the group-based communication interface invitation comprises a user engageable link to access the group-based communication interface; and

in response to receiving a user actuation of the user engageable link from within an external email interface, adding a user corresponding to an external email communication account identifier of the one or more external email communication account identifiers to a group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

receive a group-based communication interface request; and

in response to receiving a group-based communication interface request, generate and display a group-based communication interface identifier, wherein receipt of the group-based communication interface request occurs prior to or in response to receipt and analysis of the email communication corpus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the email communication corpus includes a group-based communication interface identifier.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user engageable link is configured to allow access to a group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface includes a messaging communication derived from content of the email communication corpus.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to generate and display a group-based communication channel identifier based on a content of the email communication corpus prior to or in response to receipt or analysis of the email communication corpus.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the content of the email communication corpus comprises a subject line of the email communication corpus, a body of the email communication corpus, one or more email communication account identifiers associated with the email communication corpus, or a combination thereof.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein generating the group-based communication channel identifier comprises translating the content of the email communication corpus into the group-based communication channel identifier based on established conventions of the group-based communication interface.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, compare the one or more email communication account identifiers to a set of email communication account identifiers associated with the group-based communication interface when analyzing the email communication corpus including the one or more email communication account identifiers.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

transmit a request to access the email communication account,

receive an approval to access the email communication account, and

in response to receiving the approval to access the email communication account, receive the email communication corpus.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the apparatus receives the email communication corpus, the respective email communication accounts external to the group-based communication interface are also in receipt of the email communication corpus.

12. A method to execute an email communication import protocol in a selected group-based communication interface, the selected group-based communication interface organizing a collection of messaging communications into a plurality of group-based communication channels, the method comprising:

receiving an email communication corpus, the email communication corpus comprising one or more external email communication account identifiers, each of the one or more external email communication account identifiers being associated with respective email communication accounts external to the group-based communication interface,

parsing the email communication corpus to identify the one or more external email communication account identifiers,

generating, for display within the group-based communication interface, an actuator to create a group-based communication interface invitation,

generating and transmitting a group-based communication interface invitation to the email communication account associated with at least one of the one or more external email communication account identifiers based at least in part on the actuator,

wherein the group-based communication interface invitation comprises a user engageable link to access the group-based communication interface, and

in response to receiving a user actuation of the user engageable link from within an external email interface, adding a user corresponding to an external email communication account identifier of the one or more external email communication account identifiers to a group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising:

receiving a group-based communication interface request; and

in response to receiving a group-based communication interface request, generating and displaying a group-based communication interface identifier, wherein receipt of the group-based communication interface request occurs prior to or in response to receipt and analysis of the email communication corpus.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the email communication corpus includes a group-based communication interface identifier.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the user engageable link is configured to allow access to a group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface includes a messaging communication derived from content of the email communication corpus.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating and displaying a group-based communication channel identifier based on a content of the email communication corpus prior to or in response to receipt or analysis of the email communication corpus.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the content of the email communication corpus comprises a subject line of the email communication corpus, a body of the email communication corpus, one or more email communication account identifiers associated with the email communication corpus, or a combination thereof.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the group-based communication channel identifier comprises translating the content of the email communication corpus into a group-based communication channel identifier based on established conventions of the group-based communication interface.

20. The method of claim 12, comprising comparing the one or more email communication account identifiers to a set of email communication account identifiers associated with the group-based communication interface when analyzing the email communication corpus including the one or more email communication account identifiers.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising copying at least one of the one or more email communication account identifiers.

22. The method of claim 21, comprising copying the one or more email communication account identifiers not listed in the set of email communication account identifiers associated with the group-based communication interface when copying at least one of the one or more email communication account identifiers.

23. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing the one or more email communication account identifiers in a set of email communication account identifiers associated with the group-based communication interface.

24. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

transmitting a request to access the email communication account,

receiving an approval to access the email communication account, and

in response to receiving the approval to access the email communication account, receiving the email communication corpus.

25. An apparatus configured to execute an email communication import protocol in a selected group-based communication interface, the apparatus comprising at least a processor, and a memory associated with the processor having computer coded instructions therein, with the computer coded instructions configured to, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to:

generate an email communication corpus, the email communication corpus comprising one or more external email communication account identifiers, each of the one or more external email communication account identifiers being associated with respective email communication accounts external to the group-based communication interface, and

transmit the email communication corpus to a group-based communication system comprising the group-based communication interface,

wherein transmission of the email communication corpus to the group-based communication system causes a group-based communication interface invitation to be transmitted to at least one email communication account associated with at least one of the one or more external email communication account identifiers of the email communication corpus based at least in part on an actuator of the group-based communication interface for creating the group-based communication interface invitation, and

wherein the group-based communication interface invitation comprises a user engageable link to access the group-based communication interface, and

in response to receiving a user actuation of the user engageable link from within an external email interface, adding a user corresponding to an external email communication account identifier of the one or more external email communication account identifiers to a group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

generate a group-based communication interface request; and

in response to generating a group-based communication interface request, receive a group-based communication interface identifier, wherein receipt of the group-based communication interface request occurs prior to or in response to generation of the email communication corpus.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein when transmitting the email communication corpus to a group-based communication system comprising the group-based communication interface, the email communication corpus includes a group-based communication interface identifier.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

receive a group-based communication interface invitation request, and

transmit an approval of the group-based communication interface invitation request prior to transmission of the group-based communication interface invitation to be transmitted to at least one email communication account associated with at least one of the one or more email communication account identifiers of the email communication corpus.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the user engageable link is configured to allow access to a group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface and wherein the group-based communication channel of the group-based communication interface includes a messaging communication derived from content of the email communication corpus.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to generate and display a group-based communication channel identifier based on a content of the email communication corpus.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the content of the email communication corpus comprises a subject line of the email communication corpus, a body of the email communication corpus, one or more email communication account identifiers associated with the email communication corpus, or a combination thereof.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein generating the group-based communication channel identifier comprises translating the content of the email communication corpus into a group-based communication channel identifier based on established conventions of the group-based communication interface.

33. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

receive a request to access the email communication account,

transmit an approval to access the email communication account, and

in response to transmitting the approval to access the email communication account, transmit the email communication corpus.